First illegal mining, now garbage dumping: Residents protest

First illegal mining, now garbage dumping: Residents protest
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) recently fenced the Nyanapanahalli quarry, situated four kilometres from Bannerghatta Road, to prevent illegal mining activities. Mining activities were being carried out by the villagers, with the help of local politicians.

After continuous warning from the Mines and Geology Department, the BDA had suddenly come forward a month ago and claimed that the land belongs to it. This eliminated the problem of pollution and other safety problems for the residents.

BDA’s sudden stepping in reveals that despite being aware of the illegal activities, it had refused to take action, indicating that officials in the BDA were also hand-in-glove.

Earlier, when the this website's newspaper had contacted the BDA officials, they refused to acknowledge that the quarry area belonged to them. While the Bomannahalli CMC Commissioner Udaya Shankar had earlier stated that he was aware of the illegal activities, and had warned the people at several instances.

In fact, a senior geologist at the Mines and Geology Department had told this website's newspaper that the licence for mining had been withdrawn after BDA took over the place, several years ago.

Quarrying had become a nightmare for residents of layouts around Nyanapanahalli. Now, the residents are facing other problems, with the CMC garbage lorries, using the quarry to dump garbage and debris. Villagers complain that it has become impossible for them to move around the place. The obnoxious smell of lumps of garbage, persists for more than two kilometres. Surya Prakash, a resident of Nyanapanahalli and a real estate agent said that children are developing health problems, including skin diseases and other viral infections.

‘‘Over 20 lorries of garbage, animal debris, hospital wastes are dumped daily in the yard,’’ he added.

The CMC had marked the area as a dump yard, while the BDA had intended to build a park in that area.